Female U.A.E. Pilot Bombed ISIS

Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot in the history of the United Arab Emirates, led the Gulf state's bombing raids over Syria last week.

From a Washington Post article:

It's not clear how vital her and her compatriots' efforts were in the air campaign against the Islamic State, which is entrenched over a vast swath of territory in Syria and Iraq. More important was the sheer fact of her presence. "While Arab participation in the strikes is of more symbolic than military value," writes the Wall Street Journal's Ahmed Al Omran, "analysts described it as a bold move for a group of countries that for long preferred to act via proxies instead of any direct involvement."

Gotta love the irony of ISIS fighters being bombed by a woman. Good for MAJ al-Mansouri and good for the U.A.E.; though, as the Post article points out:

The U.A.E. is no paragon of women's rights either. Female migrant workers in the country face harrowing conditions and abuse, while Emirati laws still don't provide legal recourse for marital rape. 

 And what about Saudi Arabia, where women are not permitted to drive cars or vote?

As played out in the contentious relationship between "Spyder" and "Drone" in The Last Top Gun, integration of women into combat forces is almost as complex as finding peace in the Middle East.